I am a Finnish architect, urban designer and researcher. I combine spatial analysis and design. I am interested in understanding the social functioning of space and the interaction between different spatial systems: buildings, cities and landscapes. Currently, I work on masterplanning at the Finnish bureau Tommila Architects and teach planning occasionally at Aalto University Department of Architecture. As a sideline, I have studied ways of observing urban immaterial heritage by a case study in Veracruz, among other things.
I specialise in space syntax theory and methodology regarding the interrelation of space and society. I have studied e.g. adaptability of town centres and the social performance of public space. In practice, I have been involved in prominent masterplanning projects in Finnish metropolitan area and in London, such as the conversion of the historically important Arabia factory block in Helsinki and Barking Riverside, a vast brownfield development in London. As a sideline to my interest in urbanism, I founded a network of creative work spaces together in Helsinki, Mushrooming. It has grown to be the most widely-known desk space agent for independent co-working communities in Helsinki.
I have studied and worked in Helsinki, Tokyo and London and have a Master’s degree in architecture from Aalto University in Helsinki and a Master of Research degree from The Bartlett – University College London. I have participated in workshops and conferences on architecture and urbanism in Italy, Finland, the United Kingdom, the United States, Ecuador and Mexico and exhibited works e.g. at the Helsinki Festival, Finland (2004), in Casa Principal in Veracruz, Mexico (2016) and in the Museum of Finnish Archtecture (2018).
Contact me at ilkka.torma@iki.fi